During the last five years in my previous job, I traveled about 70% of the time and with business and personal travel I traveled about 200,000 miles a year. Most of my overseas trips were to Asian countries.
I visited Taiwan six times and the one thing that stands out the most if the scooters. I know that the Vespa type scooter is trendy now, especially for Seattle college students, but in Taiwan it is a way of life. I’ve seen entire families, mom, dad, two kids and the groceries stacked on a Vespa type scooter. In the city of Taipei there are thousands of these scooter parked along the streets just off of the sidewalks. There are scooters parked at any opening. I always got the urge to push one over to watch them all fall like dominoes.
While I visited Japan twice, I didn’t really see much of the country. On the first visit, I was so busy I saw the hotel and the conference center and they were connected by a walk way, eating at such exotic places as Tony Roma’s and McDonald’s – they have rice bowls on the menu in Japan. On night I did get to eat a Sea Snail that was the size of my fistand I hope to never do that again. The second visit was a little different in that I only got out of the hotel one night and we walked downtown and ate Italian.
The most interesting trip was when I went to both Hong Kong and China. This trip happened just two weeks after Kyle and I had gotten married and neither one of us was very excited about me being gone for two weeks. One of my scariest times during any of my travels was when I had to give up my passport for three days in Hong Kong while they got me a visa to enter China. Imagine being in a foreign country and giving up your American passport, knowing that it would be worth thousands on the black market. Well, I got my passport back with my visa and we then took a train into Mainland China.
Changping Town, Dongguan city an industrial city 100 miles north of Hong Kong was my destination in China. Once we reached the city and we checked into this very nice five star hotel, Hotel Good View, I must say the view from the hotel was very good. During this stay I experienced communism up close and personal. I had the phone blocked in my room, our conference room at the factory was bugged and I had guards with AK47s escort me back into the hotel. This last experience occured on the last day in China. I went to the edge of the hotel grounds to gather a small baggie of dirt to take back to a teacher friend of mine. Well while I was bent over gathering the dirt, the woman I was traveling with tells me that armed guards were heading my way. Sure enough when I got up there are men with AK47s were coming to see what we are doing. I quickly stick the dirt in my pocket and start admiring the flowers. After a few minutes of them watching us we headed back to the hotel steps and they followed us making sure we didn't get into any trouble.
Travel to Asia is an interesting experience, it is nothing like travel in the USA or even Mexico. The cultures are just so very different. I have eaten things I really liked and some things that I hope I never know what they were, but most of all I truly appreciate the freedom that we have here in the USA and that I don’t have to worry when I want to gather a dirt sample.
Next M.E. – Hurricane Kenna
I visited Taiwan six times and the one thing that stands out the most if the scooters. I know that the Vespa type scooter is trendy now, especially for Seattle college students, but in Taiwan it is a way of life. I’ve seen entire families, mom, dad, two kids and the groceries stacked on a Vespa type scooter. In the city of Taipei there are thousands of these scooter parked along the streets just off of the sidewalks. There are scooters parked at any opening. I always got the urge to push one over to watch them all fall like dominoes.
While I visited Japan twice, I didn’t really see much of the country. On the first visit, I was so busy I saw the hotel and the conference center and they were connected by a walk way, eating at such exotic places as Tony Roma’s and McDonald’s – they have rice bowls on the menu in Japan. On night I did get to eat a Sea Snail that was the size of my fistand I hope to never do that again. The second visit was a little different in that I only got out of the hotel one night and we walked downtown and ate Italian.
The most interesting trip was when I went to both Hong Kong and China. This trip happened just two weeks after Kyle and I had gotten married and neither one of us was very excited about me being gone for two weeks. One of my scariest times during any of my travels was when I had to give up my passport for three days in Hong Kong while they got me a visa to enter China. Imagine being in a foreign country and giving up your American passport, knowing that it would be worth thousands on the black market. Well, I got my passport back with my visa and we then took a train into Mainland China.
Changping Town, Dongguan city an industrial city 100 miles north of Hong Kong was my destination in China. Once we reached the city and we checked into this very nice five star hotel, Hotel Good View, I must say the view from the hotel was very good. During this stay I experienced communism up close and personal. I had the phone blocked in my room, our conference room at the factory was bugged and I had guards with AK47s escort me back into the hotel. This last experience occured on the last day in China. I went to the edge of the hotel grounds to gather a small baggie of dirt to take back to a teacher friend of mine. Well while I was bent over gathering the dirt, the woman I was traveling with tells me that armed guards were heading my way. Sure enough when I got up there are men with AK47s were coming to see what we are doing. I quickly stick the dirt in my pocket and start admiring the flowers. After a few minutes of them watching us we headed back to the hotel steps and they followed us making sure we didn't get into any trouble.
Travel to Asia is an interesting experience, it is nothing like travel in the USA or even Mexico. The cultures are just so very different. I have eaten things I really liked and some things that I hope I never know what they were, but most of all I truly appreciate the freedom that we have here in the USA and that I don’t have to worry when I want to gather a dirt sample.
Next M.E. – Hurricane Kenna
Fowl Words
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